Assembly with electrical connection through elastomeric gasket

Abstract

A gasket with at least one integral electrical connector adapted for an assembly includes an elastomeric gasket main body adapted to seal a joint between one or more assembly components and a cover, and at least one electrical connector extending through and formed integrally with the elastomeric gasket main body so as to provide power or electric signals to at least one electrical component of the assembly.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A battery coolant heater assembly, comprising:
 a coolant manifold; 
 a cover; and 
 a gasket comprising a main body adapted to seal a joint between the coolant manifold and the cover, and an electrical connector extending through and formed integrally with the main body so as to provide power or electric signals to at least one electrical component of the battery coolant heater assembly via one or more electrical conductors, wherein the gasket includes a molded-in harness mating connector shroud, the molded-in harness mating connector shroud molded into an outside edge of the main body so that the molded-in harness mating connector shroud is exposed outside of the battery coolant heater assembly, and wherein the one or more electrical conductors extend from the molded-in harness mating connector shroud and through the main body. 
 
     
     
       2. The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector further includes an interior connector and a bridge coupled between the molded-in harness mating connector shroud and the interior connector, where the
 one or more electrical conductors extend from the molded-in harness mating connector shroud, through the bridge, and to the interior connector. 
 
     
     
       3. The assembly of  claim 2 , wherein a thickness of the electrical connector is smallest at the bridge, and wherein the bridge is adjoined by a first adjoining region and a second adjoining region each having an increased thickness relative to the bridge, the first adjoining region, the bridge, and the second adjoining region forming a top indentation and a bottom indentation within each of which the main body extends. 
     
     
       4. The assembly of  claim 3 , wherein an outer edge of the main body is in face-sharing contact with the first adjoining region and an inner edge of the main body is in face-sharing contact with the second adjoining region. 
     
     
       5. The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more electrical conductors are adapted with spade terminal connectors for electrical connection with correspondingly mating spade terminal connectors of the at least one electrical component, or the one or more electrical conductors are adapted with wire conductors for electrical connection with the at least one electrical component. 
     
     
       6. A battery coolant heater assembly, comprising:
 a coolant manifold; 
 a cover; and 
 a gasket comprising a main body adapted to seal a joint between the coolant manifold and the cover, and an electrical connector formed integrally with the main body, wherein the electrical connector extends from outside of an interior area defined at least in part by an inner edge of the main body, through the main body, and beyond the inner edge of the main body into the interior area so as to provide power or electric signals to at least one electrical component of the battery coolant heater assembly via one or more electrical conductors. 
 
     
     
       7. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more electrical conductors are adapted with a wire conductor for electrical connection with the at least one electrical component positioned within a space sealably enclosed between the cover and the coolant manifold. 
     
     
       8. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein a metallic pin circuitry extends between the one or more electrical conductors through the main body so that one or more ends of the one or more electrical conductors are positioned within a space sealably enclosed between the cover and the coolant manifold, with the metallic pin circuitry adapted to provide electrical power or electrical signals to the at least one electrical component positioned within the space. 
     
     
       9. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the cover is free from any through hole sized and adapted to receive a non-gasket-integral electrical harness connector for providing power or electrical signals to the at least one electrical component, such that a depth of the cover is decreased by at least a portion of a depth-wise dimension of the non-gasket-integral electrical harness connector. 
     
     
       10. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the electrical connector comprises a harness mating connector shroud outside of a space sealably enclosed by the cover and the coolant manifold, an interior connector inside the space, and a bridge coupled between the harness mating connector shroud and the interior connector, and wherein the one or more electrical conductors extend through the harness mating connector shroud, the bridge, and the interior connector. 
     
     
       11. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the bridge encases the one or more electrical conductors with a top layer and a bottom layer, and wherein the main body extends over the top layer and the bottom layer such that the one or more electrical conductors extend through the bridge and the main body into the space without increasing a height of the gasket. 
     
     
       12. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the harness mating connector shroud is molded into an outside edge of the main body so that the harness mating connector shroud is exposed outside of the battery coolant heater assembly and the electrical conductors are protected within the harness mating connector shroud. 
     
     
       13. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the interior connector extends into the interior area from the inner edge, and is inside the battery coolant heater assembly. 
     
     
       14. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more electrical conductors are configured in a flat shape in the bridge, and wherein the interior connector is adapted to transition the one or more electrical conductors from the flat shape to a shape conducive to connection with the at least one electrical component. 
     
     
       15. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 10 , wherein a thickness of the electrical connector is smallest at the bridge and a height of the main body is approximately equal across an entirety of the main body. 
     
     
       16. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the coolant manifold comprises a substantially planar heat transfer surface, and wherein the interior area is sized and configured to circumscribe a surface area of the substantially planar heat transfer surface. 
     
     
       17. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one electrical component comprises at least one heating element adapted to contact and thermally couple to the substantially planar heat transfer surface. 
     
     
       18. The battery coolant heater assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the main body is comprised of an elastomeric material and the electrical connector is comprised of a rigid plastic material.